PRAGUE (Reuters) – Europe must engage the United States in security debates and help find a way to bring it closer to Ukraine after the halt of U.S. military aid to Kyiv, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Tuesday.
Europe also needs to focus on being ready to replace U.S. support for Ukraine and on European security with its own resources, he said.
The Czech government has already started discussing plans to lift defence spending to 3% of gross domestic product in the coming years, from around 2% in 2024.
It has also led an ammunition drive since last year for Ukraine that sources supplies from around the world to aid Kyiv’s fight against a Russian invasion. Lipavsky said the initiative had secured deliveries for the coming months and was seeking to secure more funding from donor countries.
Since last Friday, when U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance upbraided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House – for being insufficiently appreciative of U.S. backing and their efforts to end the war – Europe has been left to scramble on security issues.
On Tuesday, the European Commission proposed borrowing up to 150 billion euros ($157.76 billion) to lend to European Union governments under a rearmament plan driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine and fears Europe can no longer be sure of U.S. protection.
In an interview later on Tuesday, Lipavsky welcomed the package, which he said would be a good basis for a summit of EU leaders on Thursday discussing Ukraine and security.
“We (also) need to continue to engage with the U.S. on debate on European security and we need to find a way maybe how to bring Ukraine and the U.S. closer together,” Lipavsky said.
“We should not give up on the U.S., definitely not. But this is the reality and we have to do what we can.”
On the EU summit, he said he expected to see clear positions from all 27 member states, which will guide how to move forward on security issues.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been at odds with the EU on support for Ukraine, has already urged the bloc to start direct discussions with Russia on a ceasefire and drop plans for a joint declaration at the summit.
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, another leader who has pushed for fast peace talks and opposes aid keeping the war going, has called the bloc’s “peace through force” strategy for Ukraine unrealistic.
The United States under Trump has started talks with Russia on ending the war, but without Kyiv or the EU at the table.
Lipavsky said Ukraine needed to be at the table, and that a fair and lasting peace was needed while warning past ceasefires between Kyiv and Moscow did not work.
“The core interest of the Czech Republic and, I hope, most European countries is to make sure that we will stop Russian imperialism, that we will protect the principles that borders are not changed by brute force,” he said.
(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Michael Perry)
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